Display apparatus

ABSTRACT

It is an object of this invention to provide a high-quality, high-precision, large-screen display apparatus which can obtain a sufficient light beam reception angle with respect to an image display unit, improve imaging performance, and obtain a thin structure. There is provided a display apparatus for obliquely projecting light from an image display unit onto a projection optical system, wherein the projection optical system includes a plurality of aspherical curved mirrors and projects an image without distortion (1.2% or less).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an oblique projection type displayapparatus and, more particularly, to a rear projection display apparatusdesigned to attain a reduction in depth of the apparatus by obliqueprojection.

2. Related Background Art

A conventional apparatus of this type is disclosed in WO 97/01787 or thelike. FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of a projection optical system. Theconventional technique shown in FIG. 6 is designed to obliquely projectan image of an image display panel onto a screen without any trapezoidaldistortion by using three to four coaxial aspherical reflecting mirrorsand one vertical plane mirror.

When embodiments in the above prior art are traced and examined, it wasfound that a reception angle (corresponding to FNO) for a light beamemerging from an image display panel is a tradeoff for imagingperformance (distortion characteristics, in particular), and it wasdifficult to obtain satisfactory optical performance.

The mirror data in Table 1 and the ray trace diagram of FIG. 6 show thetracing/examination results on an arrangement including three curvedreflecting mirrors and one plane mirror. In this tracing/examination,the projection image maximum distortion was 1.1% and projection imageaverage MTF (1 LP/mm) was 30% at projection FNO=6.0. Note that the imagedisplay panel display size in this case was 34 mm diagonal and 16:9aspect ratio, and the enlarged display size on the screen was 60″ (1524mm) diagonal.

TABLE 1 FNO 6.0 Magnification 44.4 Reflecting r (Radius of d (Distance K(Cone Constant) Surface NO Curvature [mm]) [mm]) Panel Surface infinity215.65 1 251.360 −281.88 0 2 434.812 238.00 9.957637 3 −146.786 −238.0−6.882988 Plane Mirror infinity 295.00 0 Screen Infinity Reflecting A(Aspherical B (Aspherical C (Aspherical D (Aspherical Surface NOConstant) Constant) Constant) Constant) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0.171926E-6−0.469882E-10 0.135238E-13 −0.158164E-17 3 0.519197E-8 −0.112461E-120.210605E-17 −0.172466E-22

Of the data in Table 1, the sign of the surface distance d is reversedevery time the propagating direction of a light beam from the imagedisplay panel is reversed when it is reflected by the curved reflectingmirror. The signs “+” and “−” of the radius of curvature r respectivelyindicate concave and convex surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and hasas its object to provide a high-quality, high-precision, large-screendisplay apparatus which can obtain a sufficient light beam receptionangle with respect to an image display unit, improve imagingperformance, and obtain an ultra-low-profile structure.

In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a display apparatuswhich includes at least one image display means; and

-   -   a projection optical system for obliquely projecting image light        from said at least one image display means onto a projection        surface,    -   wherein said projection optical system includes a plurality of        aspherical curved mirrors and projects the image light without        distortion (not more than 1.2%).

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, the curved mirrorsinclude at least six aspherical curved mirrors.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, said projectionoptical system includes at least one plane mirror.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, at least one of theplane mirrors is placed parallel to the projection surface.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, said at least sixaspherical curved mirrors and said at least one plane mirror aresequentially arranged from the image display means side.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between said image display means and said projection opticalsystem.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between said image display means and said projection opticalsystem.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between a second curved mirror and a third curved mirror fromthe image display means side.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between said image display means and the curved mirror.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between a second curved mirror and a third curved mirror fromthe image display means side.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, said projectionoptical system includes:

-   -   at least two plane mirrors arranged parallel to the projection        surface; and    -   an aperture stop.    -   In further aspect of the above display apparatus,    -   the projection surface receives light from said image display        means and    -   the projection surface is constructed such that at least two        eccentric Fresnel plates which have substantially the same        structure are stacked on each other.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, light from said imagedisplay means is projected on the projection surface from a rear surfacethereof.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an imageprocessing apparatus which includes said display apparatus set out inthe foregoing; and

-   -   an image information input device for supplying image        information to said display apparatus.

In further aspect of the above image processing apparatus, said imageinformation input device comprises an arithmetic unit (computer).

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a displayapparatus which includes at least one image display means;

-   -   a projection surface; and    -   a projection optical system for obliquely projecting image light        from said at least one image display means onto said projection        surface,    -   wherein said projection optical system includes at least six        aspherical curved mirrors and a plurality of plane mirrors which        are sequentially arranged from the image display means side.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between said curved mirror and said image display means.

In further aspect of the above display apparatus, an aperture stop isprovided between second and third mirrors of the curved mirrors fromsaid image display means.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a projectionoptical system for obliquely projecting light from image display means,comprising a plurality of aspherical curved mirrors, wherein an image isprojected without distortion (not more than 1.2%).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of a low-profile rearprojection display apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the arrangement of theprojection system of the low-profile rear projection display apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of an obliqueincident screen according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of a thin rearprojection display apparatus according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the arrangement of theprojection system of the thin rear projection display apparatusaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view showing an overall conventional low-profile rearprojection optical system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to embodiments of the present invention, a projection systemusing six or more free-form mirrors is formed by applying the abovearrangement so as to satisfy both the requirements for a sufficientlight beam reception angle with respect to an image display panel and animprovement in imaging performance. This makes it possible to performrear projection display on an ultra-thin, high-quality, high-precision,large screen.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of a thin rearprojection display apparatus according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 1, this apparatus includes anoblique incident screen 1, AL-deposited plane mirrors 2 and 3,AL-deposited free-form mirrors 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 which arerotationally asymmetric aspherical curved mirrors, a liquid crystaldisplay device 10, and a casing 25. Note that the rectangular portionsurrounded by the dashed line in FIG. 1 is a portion that isadditionally written to facilitate the understanding of an obliqueincident projection system basic to the present invention, and arendering of projection without the plane mirrors 2 and 3.

Although FIG. 1 does not show parts other than those described above,the liquid crystal display device 10 is illuminated from the rear by anillumination system (not shown), and image light emerging from the frontsurface of the liquid crystal display device 10 travels toward thefree-form mirror 9. As will be described in detail later, a light beamtravels while being sequentially reflected by the free-form mirrors 4,5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and is finally reflected by the mirror 4 to emergetoward the plane mirror 3, as shown in the ray diagram of FIG. 1. Inthis case, this apparatus has an imaging effect based on combining oflight beam reflection angle modulation effects of the respectivesurfaces, i.e., the overall effect of the six surfaces.

This imaging effect serves to enlarge/project the rectangular imagesurface of the liquid crystal panel 10 on the screen 1, which is placedobliquely with respect to the optical axis (optical axis incident angleof 42°). As shown in FIG. 1, therefore, a light beam emerging from thefree-from mirror 4 is reflected first by the plane mirror 3 locatedbelow the screen 1, and the reflected light beam is further reflected bythe plane mirror 2, which is located on the upper rear side of theapparatus, toward the upper front side. Thereafter, the screen 1 isirradiated with this light beam from below obliquely upward. That is,the image light is obliquely projected on the screen 1 in the end.

Note that the plane mirrors 2 and 3 are vertically arranged to beparallel with each other, together with the screen 1. With this layout,when a rear projection display apparatus is to be formed, its depth canbe greatly decreased. According to this embodiment, a 9:16 aspect ratio(landscape), 60″ diagonal display screen with a depth of 30 cm can beexpected.

The overall arrangement and mechanism have been described so far. Theprojection system comprised of the free-form mirrors 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and9 and an aperture 11 will be described next.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the projection system. Table 2shows the optical data (the surface separations of the respectivesurfaces, the tilt angles of the respective surfaces, the surfacedefinitions of the respective surfaces, and the like) of the projectionsystem. Note that the liquid crystal panel display size in thisembodiment is 27 mm diagonal & 16:9 aspect ratio, and the enlargeddisplay size on the screen is 60″ (1524 mm) diagonal & 16:9 aspectratio. With regard to coordinate systems in this case, the localcoordinates on the respective surfaces (free-from reflecting surfaces inthis case) are used to define the respective surfaces.

The center of the liquid crystal panel 10 is set as a first origin, anda normal passing through the origin is set as a first opticalaxis/z-axis (local z-axis) for defining a liquid crystal surface. Thedirection in which light emerges from the liquid crystal surface isdefined as a positive z-axis direction. In this case, the y-axis is anaxis coinciding with the upward direction as a positive direction on thedrawing surface which is perpendicular to the z-axis, and the x-axis isan axis coinciding with the forward direction as a positive direction onthe drawing surface which is perpendicular to the z- and y-axes.

A point apart from a coordinate value on each reflecting surface by asurface distance d (mm) along the z-axis (optical axis) is set as a nextlocal origin. If a given surface has a tilt angle, the x-axis is set asa rotation axis, and the direction in which the positive y-axisdirection approaches the positive z-axis direction (optical axisdirection) is set as a positive direction. The x-, y-, and z-axis afterthe tilt are set as local coordinates for defining the reflectingsurface. The free-form surface shapes of these reflecting surfaces aredefined by an xy polynomial as follows:z = C₄x² + C₆y² + C₈x²y + C₁₀y³ + C₁₁x⁴ + C₁₃x²y² + C₁₅y⁴ + C₁₇x⁴y + C₁₉x²y³ + C₂₁y⁵ + C₂₂x⁶ + C₂₄x⁴y² + C₂₆x²y⁴ + C₂₈y⁶Table 2 given below shows the respective C_(n) coefficient values andthe like as the respective reflecting surface data.

Note that coordinate systems after reflection at the reflecting surfacesconform to the above coordinate definitions except that the z-axispolarity of the next local coordinate system is reversed with respect tothe traveling direction of light. In this embodiment, therefore, thelocal coordinate system is defined such that the z-axis (optical axis)polarity is reversed for every reflection, and the signs of the surfacedistance d and tilt angle are reversed for each reflection.

In the projection system formed by a total of six free-from mirrorsurfaces, the free-form mirror formed by molding and AL deposition isheld by a die cast frame (not shown) to be arranged in accordance withthe optical data shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 FNO 3.5 (based on relationship with aperture size) Magnification56.4 Surface d[mm] (Surface Distance) Tilt Angle [°] (rotation axiscoincides with positive direction that is tilt direction in whichx-axis/positive y direction rotates in positive z-axis direction) LiquidCrystal 120.355 0 Surface Ninth Surface −62.000 24.10 Eighth Surface20.000 −45.00 Aperture 66.054 0 Seventh Surface −65.000 36.37 SixthSurface 60.952 −32.48 Fifth Surface −112.928 30.00 Fourth Surface95.1499 −20.49 Plane Mirror 3 −295.000 42.00 Plane Mirror 2 295.000−42.00 Screen 42.00 Reflecting Surface C₄ C₆ C₈ C₁₀ Ninth Surface−4.5884E-3 −3.4275E-3  2.5854E-6  4.3012E-7 Eighth Surface −5.4838E-3−1.7940E-3  7.3906E-5  5.1839E-6 Seventh Surface  4.1171E-4 −4.4187E-4 5.6620E-5 −1.6014E-5 Sixth Surface  2.2449E-3  1.2939E-3  4.6241E-5−1.2609E-5 Fifth Surface  1.1310E-3  2.5863E-3  3.7000E-5  5.9829E-6Fourth Surface  5.3472E-3  3.7596E-3 −2.3969E-5 −1.6790E-5 ReflectingSurface C₁₁ C₁₃ C₁₅ C₁₇ C₁₉ Ninth Surface −1.1349E-7 −1.7316E-7−7.1215E-8  2.4169E-10  6.9478E-11 Eighth Surface −4.9216E-7 −8.3895E-7−2.0548E-7  1.6790E-8  1.4899E-8 Seventh Surface  5.3979E-7 −5.5956E-8 1.1600E-7  1.3042E-8  5.6446E-9 Sixth Surface  1.2510E-7 −4.2937E-8 1.1542E-7  9.0994E-10  6.9117E-10 Fifth Surface −4.4928E-8 −3.4118E-7 4.7489E-7 −3.8844E-10 −5.7955E-9 Fourth Surface −5.0709E-8  2.0786E-7 1.9881E-7  5.2909E-10 −9.6599E-10 Reflecting Surface C₂₁ C₂₂ C₂₄ C₂₆C₂₈ Ninth Surface −1.7555E-10 −6.7660E-12 −1.4753E-11 −1.0332E-11−4.3099E-12 Eighth Surface  1.2259E-9  8.0779E-11 −3.3503E-10−1.0214E-10 −1.5825E-11 Seventh Surface −7.856E-10  6.2334E-11 2.3367E-10 −2.3841E-11  5.1577E-12 Sixth Surface  3.4598E-10−3.3328E-12  5.0336E-12 −9.1553E-12 −5.3798E-13 Fifth Surface  3.5909E-9−5.4674E-12 −5.8379E-11 −1.4892E-10  1.4863E-10 Fourth Surface−1.6141E-9  1.0377E-11 −4.8012E-12  4.5601E-12  8.8339E-12

According to the optical specifications achieved by this projectionsystem, although the incident angle on the screen is as severe as 42°,the distortion is 0.5% or less, the average MTF is 80% (1 Lp/mm), theFNO is 3.5, and the brightness unevenness is 20% or less. That is, asufficient light beam reception angle (FNO: 3.5) and imaging performancecan be obtained; the achieved specifications can be applied tohigh-resolution, high-quality, image projection of a so-calledhigh-vision level.

As the screen 1, a screen for oblique incidence is used in thisembodiment. FIG. 3 shows a sectional arrangement of this screen. Thescreen is made up of three members, i.e., an eccentric Fresnel plate 12,eccentric Fresnel plate 13, and lenticular member 14, which aresequentially stacked on each other from the incident side. In this case,as these eccentric Fresnel plates 12 and 13, two mirrors having the samespecifications are used (because such a severe requirement for obliqueincidence cannot be satisfied by using only one eccentric Fresnel platein terms of prism processing). As indicated by the thin arrow lines inFIG. 3, owing to the beam condensing effect of the two eccentric Fresnelplates, projection light incident from the rear side emerges from theentire surface in the forward direction (in other words, the power andeccentricity amount of each eccentric Fresnel plate are so set to obtainsuch refracting effect). In this case, the projection light diverges inthe horizontal direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 3) by thelenticular member 14, and a projection image with uniform brightness isobserved from the viewer side on the front side throughout a wide fieldof view.

This eccentric Fresnel plate can be formed by cutting a plate from ageneral concentric Fresnel plate at a position offset from its center bya predetermined distance.

As described above, according to this embodiment, although a sufficientlight beam reception angle, i.e., FNO: 3.5, and the above excellentimaging performance can be obtained, if the number of free-form surfacesis reduced to 4 or 5, an inconvenience occurs in terms of an opticalparameter associated with MTF, distortion, or the like. According to thestudy conducted by the present applicants, no good effect could beobtained. This may be because if desired optical performance is to beobtained even under a severe condition, i.e., oblique incidence, acorresponding number of variable parameters are required.

The arrangement described above is merely an embodiment, and hence canbe variably arranged. In this embodiment, six free-form mirrors are usedto form a projection system. However, seven or more mirrors may be usedwithout posing any problem. In addition, the liquid crystal panel isused as a display device. However, the present invention is not limitedto this, and a thin rear projection display apparatus can be formed byusing a reflection type device such as a DMD, an organic EL displaydevice, or the like. Furthermore, as for the screen arrangement, thelenticular member may be replaced with a diffusion plate, and theeccentric Fresnel plate may be replaced with a linear Fresnel plate,hologram plate, hologram sheet, or the like.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of a thin rearprojection display apparatus according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 4, this apparatus includes anoblique incident screen 23, AL-deposited plane mirror 24, Al-depositedfree-from mirrors 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, DMD display device 21, andcasing 26. Note that as DMD display devices, for example, the devicesdisclosed in Japanese Patent Nos.2664300, 2978224, and 2978285are widelyknown.

Although FIG. 4 does not show parts other than those described above,the DMD display device 21 is illuminated from an upper side by anillumination system (not shown), and image light reflected from the DMDdisplay device 21 travels toward the free-form mirror 20. As in theabove embodiment, a light beam travels while being sequentiallyreflected by the free-form mirrors 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 is finallyreflected by the mirror 20 to emerge toward the plane mirror 24, asshown in the ray diagram of FIG. 4. In this case, this apparatus has animaging effect based on the synthesis of light beam reflection anglemodulation effects of the respective surfaces, i.e., the overall effectof the six surfaces.

This imaging effect serves to enlarge/project the rectangular imagesurface of the DMD panel 21 on the screen 23, which is placed obliquelywith respect to the optical axis (optical axis incident angle of 40.3°).As shown in FIG. 4, therefore, a light beam emerging from the free-frommirror 20 is reflected by the plane mirror 24 located behind the screen,i.e., on the rear side of the apparatus. Thereafter, the screen 23 isirradiated with this light beam from below obliquely upward. That is,the image light is obliquely projected on the screen 23 from a lowerside.

Note that the plane mirror 24 is vertically placed to be parallel withthe screen 23. With this layout, as in the above embodiment, when a rearprojection display apparatus is to be formed, its depth can be greatlydecreased. According to this embodiment, a 5:3 aspect ratio (landscape),60″ diagonal display screen with a depth of 30 cm can be expected. Inaddition, in this embodiment, only one plane mirror is used, and thefree-form mirrors 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 extend parallel to the rearprojection apparatus. This layout allows a reduction in the total heightof the apparatus as compared with the preceding embodiment. As for theabove screen size, a total height of 110 cm or less can be expected.

The overall arrangement and mechanism have been described so far. Theprojection system comprised of the free-form mirrors 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,and 20 and an aperture 22 will be described next. FIG. 5 is an enlargedsectional view of the projection system. Table 3 shows the optical data(the surface separations of the respective surfaces, the tilt angles ofthe respective surfaces, the surface definitions of the respectivesurfaces, and the like) of the projection system. Note that the DMDpanel display size in this embodiment is 21 mm diagonal & 5:3 aspectratio, and the enlarged display size on the screen is 60″ (1524 mm)diagonal & 5:3 aspect ratio. With regard to coordinate systems in thiscase, the local coordinates on the respective surfaces (free-fromreflecting surfaces in this case) are used to define the respectivesurfaces.

The center of the DMD panel 21 is set as a first origin, and a straightline connecting the origin and the center of the aperture 22 is set as afirst optical axis/z-axis (local z-axis). The direction in which lightemerges from the liquid crystal surface is defined as a positive z-axisdirection. In this case, the y-axis is an axis coinciding with theleftward direction as a positive direction on the drawing surface whichis perpendicular to the z-axis, and the x-axis is an axis coincidingwith the forward direction as a positive direction on the drawingsurface which is perpendicular to the z- and y-axis.

As in the preceding embodiment, a point separated from a coordinatevalue on each reflecting surface by a surface distance d (mm) along thez-axis (optical axis) is set as a next local origin. If a given surfacehas a tilt angle, the x-axis is set as a rotation axis, and thedirection in which the positive y-axis direction approaches the positivez-axis direction (optical axis direction) is set as a positivedirection. The x-, y-, and z-axis after the tilt are set as localcoordinates for defining the reflecting surface. In this embodiment, theDMD panel itself is tilted at +38.0170°. The free-form surface shapes ofthese reflecting surfaces are defined by an xy polynomial as follows:z = C₄x² + C₆y² + C₈x²y + C₁₀y³ + C₁₁x⁴ + C₁₃x²y² + C₁₅y⁴ + C₁₇x⁴y + C₁₉x²y³ + C₂₁y⁵ + C₂₂x⁶ + C₂₄x⁴y² + C₂₆x²y⁴ + C₂₈y⁶Table 3 given below shows the respective C_(n) coefficient values andthe like as the respective reflecting surface data.

Note that coordinate systems after reflection at the reflecting surfacesconform to the above coordinate definitions except that the z-axispolarity of the next local coordinate system is reversed with respect tothe traveling direction of light. In this embodiment, therefore, thelocal coordinate system is defined such that the z-axis (optical axis)polarity is reversed for every reflection, and the signs of the surfacedistance d and tilt angle are reversed for each reflection.

As in the preceding embodiment, in the projection system formed by atotal of six free-from mirror surfaces, the free-form mirror formed bymolding and AL deposition is held by a die cast frame (not shown) to bearranged in accordance with the optical data shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 FNO 4.6 (based on aperture size) Magnification 72.5 Surfaced[mm] (Surface Distance) Tilt Angle [°] (rotation axis coincides withpositive direction that is tilt direction in which x-axis/positive ydirection rotates in positive z-axis direction) DMD Surface 83.00038.017 Aperture 15.836 0.000 20th Surface −43.930 38.603 19th Surface44.627 −43.151 18th Surface −73.116 56.766 17th Surface 60.558 −31.85116th Surface −100.042 35.889 15th Surface 354.000 −21.999 Plane Mirror−354.000 40.30 Screen −40.30 Reflecting Surface C₄ C₆ C₈ C₁₀ 20thSurface −5.5542E-3 −3.8935E-3 −1.8045E-5 −6.4231E-6 19th Surface−1.7045E-3 −1.3621E-3 −1.1014E-4 −3.6759E-5 18th Surface  5.4890E-3 2.1130E-3 −5.4810E-5  3.9701E-5 17th Surface  4.5864E-3  1.8464E-3−8.1612E-6  2.6422E-6 16th Surface  9.6278E-3  1.5852E-3  1.9096E-5−2.5710E-5 15th Surface  7.8106E-3  4.3619E-3  3.3695E-5  1.7541E-5Reflecting Surface C₁₁ C₁₃ C₁₅ C₁₇ C₁₉ 20th Surface −2.1321E-7−4.7665E-7 −1.7739E-7 −3.2345E-9 −1.5098E-9 19th Surface −9.5505E-7−2.9033E-6 −1.3288E-6 −5.8551E-8 −1.0072E-7 18th Surface −3.3133E-7 7.0577E-8  3.0403E-7 −9.4654E-9 −3.6720E-8 17th Surface −7.9480E-8 4.0016E-7  1.6277E-7 −2.0123E-9  1.4100E-9 16th Surface −6.4138E-6 3.7365E-6  6.6103E-7  1.3636E-9  5.1520E-8 15th Surface  1.6671E-7 1.7313E-8  1.3574E-7  1.1791E-9 −4.6506E-9 Reflecting Surface C₂₁ C₂₂C₂₄ C₂₆ C₂₈ 20th Surface −5.4541E-10  2.6900E-12 −6.3213E-11  9.0113E-12 2.2693E-12 19th Surface −3.3646E-8  2.0071E-11 −2.2254E-9 −2.1570E-9−4.8443E-10 18th Surface −3.7392E-9  8.8691E-10  8.4074E-10 −2.4130E-10 1.8190E-11 17th Surface −5.0361E-9 −2.0956E-11  4.4791E-11 −1.4289E-10−4.3554E-11 16th Surface  3.3848E-11  2.5347E-9 −1.6434E-9 −1.8916E-9−3.7693E-10 15th Surface  1.7954E-9  8.8106E-12  1.7533E-11 −2.2737E-11 2.1279E-11

According to the optical specifications achieved by this projectionsystem, although the incident angle on the screen is as severe as 40.3°,the distortion is 1.2% or less, the average MTF is 40% (1 Lp/mm), theFNO is 4.6, and the brightness unevenness is 20% or less. That is, asufficient light beam reception angle (FNO: 4.6) and imaging performancefor a DMD panel can be obtained. As in the preceding embodiment, theachieved specifications can be applied to high-quality image projectionof a DTV or the like. Strictly speaking, in this embodiment, althoughthe optical performance slightly deteriorates as compared with thepreceding embodiment, the total height of the apparatus can be decreasedmore.

The screen 23 in this embodiment is identical to the screen 1 in thepreceding embodiment.

In the above embodiments, one or two plan mirrors are used. However, afurther reduction in the depth of a display apparatus may be attained byfolding the optical path using three or more plane mirrors.

In addition, an image processing apparatus may be formed by combiningthe display apparatus of this embodiment and an image information inputdevice for supplying image information. This image processing apparatusmay be a video deck or the like or an arithmetic unit such as acomputer.

As has been described above, this embodiment can satisfy both therequirements for a sufficient light beam reception angle with respect toan image display panel and an improvement in imaging performance. Thismakes it possible to realize a high-quality, ultra-thin, large-screendisplay apparatus.

1. A display apparatus comprising: at least one image display means: aprojection surface; and a projection optical system for obliquelyprojecting image light from said at least one image display means ontosaid projection surface, wherein said projection optical system includesat least six aspherical curved mirrors and a plurality of plane mirrorswhich are sequentially arranged from the image display means side, andwherein said projection optical system projects the image light with adistortion equal to or less than 0.5% and a brightness unevenness on theprojection surface by the image light is equal to or less than 20%. 2.An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an aperture stopbetween at least one of said curved mirrors and said image displaymeans.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising anaperture stop between second and third mirrors of the curved mirrorsfrom said image display means side.